South Africa’s Ruling ANC Seeks Antitrust Media Probe

July 29 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s ruling African
National Congress called on antitrust authorities to investigate
the media industry, saying they were abusing their dominant
market position to stifle competition.

“The Competition Commission should be approached to
investigate uncompetitive behavior regarding monopolistic
behavior, price collusion” and other transgressions by media
companies, the party said in a discussion document on its
website today. The issue will be debated at an ANC conference in
Durban, on South Africa’s east coast, between Sept. 20 and 24.

The ANC, which has ruled South Africa since all-race
elections in 1994, has complained about unfavorable coverage of
the party and government. The SA National Editors’ Forum will
respond to the ANC’s discussion paper once it has studied the
document, Thabo Leshilo, the chairman of the organization’s
media freedom division, said in an interview.

Naspers Ltd., Independent News and Media Plc, Avusa Ltd.
and Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Ltd. all own
newspapers and magazines in the country. The Gupta Group plans
to start The New Age daily newspaper next month with the Times
of India Group to rival the five largest newspapers in the
country’s major cities, Essop Pahad, a former cabinet minister
and adviser to the New Age, said July 22.

‘Lack of Independence’

A cursory scan of “the print media reveals an astonishing
degree of dishonesty, lack of professional integrity and lack of
independence,” the ANC said. “Some fractions of the media
continue to adopt an anti-transformation, anti-development and
anti-ANC stance.”

The party reiterated calls for the establishment of an
independent media appeals tribunal that would be accountable to
the ANC-dominated Parliament and investigate complaints against
the media. That task is currently handled by a press ombudsman,
who is funded by media organizations, and complainants
relinquish the right to contest the findings in court.

“This situation is untenable,” the ANC said. “A balance
has to be found which is fair and just and which is in the
interest of all and not just the media.”

The ANC also criticized media companies for failing to draw
up a plan to address a lack of racial diversity among their
shareholders, and proposed that Parliament hold public hearings
to assess how the issue can be addressed. Several industries,
including mining, have adopted so-called charters committing
themselves to racial transformation targets.

The “media, in particular print media, does not have, nor
is in a process of, developing a transformation charter,” the
party said. “This reality calls to question the commitment of
print media to the transformation agenda, or, if such commitment
exists, the will to implement it.”